Burce earns berth in London Paralympics

MANILA, Philippines - Thrower Marites Burce earned a berth to the XIV Paralympics in London, bringing to six the number of Filipino differently-abled bets who will do battle in the Aug. 29-Sept 9 Games.

“We have received confirmation (from the International Paralympic Committee) for Marites Burce saying she is now officially qualified for London,” Philippine Sports Association for the Differently-Abled (Philspada) secretary-general Butch Weber announced yesterday.

Burce, a wheel-chair bound athlete, competes in discus throw, javelin throw and shot put under the F54 classification.

A double gold medalist in the 2011 ASEAN Paragames, Burce joined early qualifiers, powerlifters Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta (over 82.5 kg), Achelle Guion (-44kgs), and Agustin Kitan (men’s 52 kg), table tennis ace Josephine Medina, and  swimmer Bea Roble, to the London joust.

“We’re still waiting for (confirmation of) two more, one in cycling and hopefully one more in swimming, plus another one in athletics,” said Weber.

The six-athlete delegation from four sports is the largest for the country in the quadrennial games so far.

“This is the first time we’ll compete in more than two sports in the Paralympics – powerlifting, table tennis, swimming and athletics – so it’s really very exciting for us,” said Philspada chairman Mike Barredo.

Phl has only won one medal in the Paralympics so far, a bronze by Dumapong Ancheta in the 2000 edition in Sydney.